Methods and products for product tracing and authentication using conductive inks

ABSTRACT

Example embodiments of a product authentication method may include triggering a first authentication process in response to sensing a conductive ink in proximity to a computing device having a set of sensors and performing a second authentication process. The first authentication process may include initiating an application on the computing device when the set of sensors senses the conductive ink. And the second authentication process may be performed by the application on the computing device and may include sending a code to a remote server and receiving a validity determination from the remote server.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/076,118, filed on Nov. 6, 2014, which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to methods and products for producttracing and authentication using conductive inks.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the presentdisclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

The development of a commercial economy brings a generation oftremendous counterfeit and imitation of products of well-known brands invarious fields, which causes severe economic losses and social problemsand brings anti-counterfeit technology into wide demand.

In some cases, a company makes products that are sold individually aswell as a part of a package of products. In such cases, the products aresometimes diverted from legitimate customers, through the “open market”,to illicit counterfeiting operations that counterfeit proprietary andtrademark branded products of that company.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not acomprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

A need has arisen to separate and distinguish products sold and/orshipped to legitimate distributors from counterfeit products.

Example embodiments of a product authentication method may includetriggering a first authentication process in response to sensing aconductive ink in proximity to a computing device having a set ofsensors and performing a second authentication process. The firstauthentication process may include initiating an application on thecomputing device when the set of sensors senses the conductive ink. Andthe second authentication process may be performed by the application onthe computing device and may include sending a code to a remote serverand receiving a validity determination from the remote server.

The first authentication process may include determining that theelectrically conductive ink corresponds to an orientation of the set ofsensors and initializing an internet browsing application when theelectrically conductive ink corresponds to the orientation of the set ofsensors.

The second authentication process may be performed after determiningthat the electrically conductive ink corresponds to an orientation ofthe set of sensors and include sending a package code to a remoteserver. As a further part of the second authentication process, thecomputing device may be configured to receive a determination of whetherthe package code is valid and end the internet browsing application whenthe package code is not valid. As a yet further part of the secondauthentication process, the computing device may be configured toreceive a determination of whether the package code is unused and endthe internet browsing application when the package code is not unused.

When both authentication processes are completed successfully, thecomputing device may be configured to receive product package historyinformation from the remote server and receive access to product packagevendor information.

A further example embodiment may include computing device having anon-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to trigger the firstauthentication process in response to sensing the conductive ink inproximity to the computing device having a set of sensors, initiate anapplication on the computing device when the set of sensors senses theconductive ink, perform a second authentication process, the secondauthentication process being performed by the application on thecomputing device and comprising, send a code to a remote server, andreceive a validity determination from the remote server.

Additionally, in this further example embodiment, the processor may becaused to determine that the electrically conductive ink corresponds toan orientation of the set of sensors, initialize an internet browsingapplication when the electrically conductive ink corresponds to theorientation of the set of sensors, perform the second authenticationafter determining that the electrically conductive ink corresponds to anorientation of the set of sensors, send a package code to a remoteserver, receive a determination of whether the package code is valid,end the internet browsing application when the package code is notvalid, receive a determination of whether the package code is unused,end the internet browsing application when the package code is notunused, receive a product package history information from the remoteserver, and receive access to product package vendor information.

An example authentication process may include receiving confirmationfrom a computing device that a first code has triggered activation of anapplication running on the computing device, receiving a second codefrom the computing device, referring to a non-transitory computerreadable medium to determine whether the second code is present in thenon-transitory computer readable medium, and providing the computingdevice with access to software stored on the non-transitory computerreadable medium when the second code is present in the non-transitorycomputer readable medium.

The example product authentication process may also include determiningwhether the second code is valid, sending an error message to thecomputing device when the second code is invalid, receiving a locationof the computing device when the second code is not valid, and storingthe location in the non-transitory computer readable medium. Similarly,the example authentication process may further include determiningwhether the second code is unused, sending an error message to thecomputing device when the second code is unused, receiving a location ofthe computing device when the second code is not unused, and storing thelocation in the non-transitory computer readable medium.

The example product authentication process may also include, when bothauthentication processes are completed successfully, sending productpackage history information to the computing device when the second codeis not unused, and providing the computing device with access to productpackage vendor information.

A further example embodiment is an authentication server having anon-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to receive confirmationfrom a computing device that a first code has triggered activation of anapplication running on the computing device, receive a second code fromthe computing device, refer to a non-transitory computer readable mediumto determine whether the second code is present in the non-transitorycomputer readable medium, and provide the computing device with accessto software stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium whenthe second code is present in the non-transitory computer readablemedium.

The authentication server processor may also determine whether thesecond code is valid and send an error message to the computing devicewhen the second code is invalid, receive a location of the computingdevice when the second code is not valid, and store the location of thecomputing device in the non-transitory computer readable medium.Similarly, the authentication server processor may determine whether thesecond code is unused send an error message to the computing device whenthe second code is unused, receive a location of the computing devicewhen the second code is not unused, and store the location in thenon-transitory computer readable medium.

When both the first and the second authentication processes arecompleted successfully, the authentication server may send productpackage history information to the computing device, and provide thecomputing device with access to product package vendor information.

An example embodiment of a product package includes a substrate, and anink on a surface of the substrate, the ink being electrically conductiveand being configured to trigger a first authentication process in acomputing device when the ink is proximate to the computing device. Theink may be a color outside of a visible light spectrum range.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. The description and specific examples in this summaryare intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only ofselected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an authentication system including a product package,a computing device and an authentication server according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the example embodiment of theproduct package shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of the computing device of FIG.1;

FIG. 4a illustrates an example embodiment of the capacitive pad of thecomputing device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4b illustrates a further example embodiment of the capacitive padof the computing device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of the authentication server ofthe authentication system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example interaction between the computing deviceand the product package of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart showing an authentication initializationprocess according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart showing a first authentication processaccording to an example embodiment; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart showing a second authentication processaccording to an example embodiment.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various example embodiments will now be described more fully withreference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodimentsare shown.

Detailed illustrative embodiments are disclosed herein. However,specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merelyrepresentative for purposes of describing example embodiments. Exampleembodiments may, however, be embodied in many alternate forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein.

While example embodiments are capable of various modifications andalternative forms, the embodiments are shown by way of example in thedrawings and will be described herein in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that there is no intent to limit exampleembodiments to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary, exampleembodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of this disclosure. Like numbersrefer to like elements throughout the description of the figures.

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describevarious elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms.These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. Forexample, a first element could be termed a second element, andsimilarly, a second element could be termed a first element, withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. As used herein, the term“and/or,” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

When an element is referred to as being “connected,” or “coupled,” toanother element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the otherelement or intervening elements may be present. By contrast, when anelement is referred to as being “directly connected,” or “directlycoupled,” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between,” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent,” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,”“includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presenceof stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or items,but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more otherfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, items, and/or groupsthereof.

It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, thefunctions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures.For example, two figures shown in succession may in fact be executedsubstantially concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.

Specific details are provided in the following description to provide athorough understanding of example embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that example embodimentsmay be practiced without these specific details. For example, systemsmay be shown in block diagrams so as not to obscure the exampleembodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-knownprocesses, structures and techniques may be shown without unnecessarydetail in order to avoid obscuring example embodiments.

In the following description, illustrative embodiments will be describedwith reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations (e.g.,in the form of flow charts, flow diagrams, data flow diagrams, structurediagrams, block diagrams, etc.) that may be implemented as programmodules or functional processes include routines, programs, objects,items, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types and may be implemented using existinghardware at, for example, existing small wireless cells, base stations,NodeBs, operator equipments (OEs) including multi-mode OEs, etc. Suchexisting hardware may include one or more Central Processing Units(CPUs), system-on-chip (SOC) devices, digital signal processors (DSPs),application-specific-integrated-circuits, field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs) computers or the like.

Although a flow chart may describe the operations as a sequentialprocess, many of the operations may be performed in parallel,concurrently or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the operationsmay be re-arranged. A process may be terminated when its operations arecompleted, but may also have additional steps not included in thefigure. A process may correspond to a method, function, procedure,subroutine, subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function,its termination may correspond to a return of the function to thecalling function or the main function.

As disclosed herein, the term “storage medium”, “computer readablestorage medium” or “non-transitory computer readable storage medium” mayrepresent one or more devices for storing data, including read onlymemory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory,magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memorydevices and/or other tangible machine readable mediums for storinginformation. The term “computer-readable medium” may include, but is notlimited to, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices,and various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carryinginstruction(s) and/or data.

Furthermore, example embodiments may be implemented by hardware,software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software,firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments toperform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine or computerreadable medium such as a computer readable storage medium. Whenimplemented in software, a processor or processors will perform thenecessary tasks.

A code segment may represent a procedure, function, subprogram, program,routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, or any combinationof instructions, data structures or program statements. A code segmentmay be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passingand/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters or memorycontents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

The term “operator equipment” or “OE”, as discussed herein, may beconsidered synonymous to, and may hereafter be occasionally referred to,as operator, client, client device, mobile unit, mobile station, mobileoperator, mobile, subscriber, remote station, access terminal, receiver,etc., and describes a remote operator of wireless resources in awireless communication network (e.g., a 3GPP LTE network). The OEsdiscussed herein may be multi-mode OEs capable of communicating over atleast LTE and WiFi.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “under,”“above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will beunderstood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of the device in use or operation in addition tothe orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device inthe figures is turned over, elements described as “below,” “beneath,” or“under,” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” theother elements or features. Thus, the example terms “below” and “under”may encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may beotherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and thespatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. Inaddition, when an element is referred to as being “between” twoelements, the element may be the only element between the two elements,or one or more other intervening elements may be present.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. Terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and/or this disclosure, and should notbe interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expresslyso defined herein.

Units and/or devices according to one or more example embodiments may beimplemented using hardware, software, and/or a combination thereof. Forexample, hardware devices may be implemented using processing circuitysuch as, but not limited to, a processor, Central Processing Unit (CPU),a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signalprocessor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aSystem-on-Chip (SoC), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, orany other device capable of responding to and executing instructions ina defined manner.

Software may include a computer program, program code, instructions, orsome combination thereof, for independently or collectively instructingor configuring a hardware device to operate as desired. The computerprogram and/or program code may include program or computer-readableinstructions, software items, software modules, data files, datastructures, and/or the like, capable of being implemented by one or morehardware devices, such as one or more of the hardware devices mentionedabove. Examples of program code include both machine code produced by acompiler and higher level program code that is executed using aninterpreter.

For example, when a hardware device is a computer processing device(e.g., a processor, Central Processing Unit (CPU), a controller, anarithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, amicrocomputer, a microprocessor, etc.), the computer processing devicemay be configured to carry out program code by performing arithmetical,logical, and input/output operations, according to the program code.Once the program code is loaded into a computer processing device, thecomputer processing device may be programmed to perform the programcode, thereby transforming the computer processing device into a specialpurpose computer processing device. In a more specific example, when theprogram code is loaded into a processor, the processor becomesprogrammed to perform the program code and operations correspondingthereto, thereby transforming the processor into a special purposeprocessor.

Software and/or data may be embodied permanently or temporarily in anytype of machine, item, physical or virtual equipment, or computerstorage medium or device, capable of providing instructions or data to,or being interpreted by, a hardware device. The software also may bedistributed over network coupled computer systems so that the softwareis stored and executed in a distributed fashion. In particular, forexample, software and data may be stored by one or more computerreadable recording mediums, including the tangible or non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media discussed herein.

According to one or more example embodiments, computer processingdevices may be described as including various functional units thatperform various operations and/or functions to increase the clarity ofthe description. However, computer processing devices are not intendedto be limited to these functional units. For example, in one or moreexample embodiments, the various operations and/or functions of thefunctional units may be performed by other ones of the functional units.Further, the computer processing devices may perform the operationsand/or functions of the various functional units without sub-dividingthe operations and/or functions of the computer processing units intothese various functional units.

Units and/or devices according to one or more example embodiments mayalso include one or more storage devices. The one or more storagedevices may be tangible or non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), apermanent mass storage device (such as a disk drive), solid state (e.g.,NAND flash) device, and/or any other like data storage mechanism capableof storing and recording data. The one or more storage devices may beconfigured to store computer programs, program code, instructions, orsome combination thereof, for one or more operating systems and/or forimplementing the example embodiments described herein. The computerprograms, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof, mayalso be loaded from a separate computer readable storage medium into theone or more storage devices and/or one or more computer processingdevices using a drive mechanism. Such separate computer readable storagemedium may include a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive, a memorystick, a Blu-ray/DVD/CD-ROM drive, a memory card, and/or other likecomputer readable storage media. The computer programs, program code,instructions, or some combination thereof, may be loaded into the one ormore storage devices and/or the one or more computer processing devicesfrom a remote data storage device via a network interface, rather thanvia a local computer readable storage medium. Additionally, the computerprograms, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof, maybe loaded into the one or more storage devices and/or the one or moreprocessors from a remote computing system that is configured to transferand/or distribute the computer programs, program code, instructions, orsome combination thereof, over a network. The remote computing systemmay transfer and/or distribute the computer programs, program code,instructions, or some combination thereof, via a wired interface, an airinterface, and/or any other like medium.

The one or more hardware devices, the one or more storage devices,and/or the computer programs, program code, instructions, or somecombination thereof, may be specially designed and constructed for thepurposes of the example embodiments, or they may be known devices thatare altered and/or modified for the purposes of example embodiments.

A hardware device, such as a computer processing device, may run anoperating system (OS) and one or more software applications that run onthe OS. The computer processing device also may access, store,manipulate, process, and create data in response to execution of thesoftware. For simplicity, one or more example embodiments may beexemplified as one computer processing device; however, one skilled inthe art will appreciate that a hardware device may include multipleprocessing elements and multiple types of processing elements. Forexample, a hardware device may include multiple processors or aprocessor and a controller. In addition, other processing configurationsare possible, such as parallel processors.

Example embodiments are described herein with reference tocross-sectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations ofidealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of exampleembodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations asa result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances,are to be expected. Thus, example embodiments should not be construed aslimited to the shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to includedeviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. Thus,the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and theirshapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of adevice and are not intended to limit the scope of example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1, an authentication system 100 for authenticating aproduct package 102 includes a computing device 104 and anauthentication server 106.

The computing device 104 and the authentication server 106 may bedirectly coupled to each other via a connection 108, which is discussedin more detail below with respect to FIG. 5, or the computing device 104and the authentication server 106 may be coupled together viaconnections 110 a and 110 b with a network 112.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the example embodiment of theproduct package 102. As shown in FIG. 2, the product package 102 mayinclude a substrate 114, which is described in detail with respect toFIG. 6. The product package 102 may also include a conductive ink 116,which is also described in detail with respect to FIG. 6. Exampleembodiments of the product package 102 include a second code 126 (i.e.,a package code, described in detail below with respect to FIG. 6)printed on the substrate 114 of the product package 102. For example,the second code 126 may be an alphanumeric code, a symbolic code, i.e.,a #-%-#-*-&, or a combination alphanumeric-symbolic code. As describedin more detail with respect to FIG. 6 below, the second code 126 on thesubstrate 114 is distinct from codes on other product packages.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of the computing device 104.The computing device 104 may have a display 115, a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium 117 and a processor 119 and/or amicroprocessor or a controller. The processor 119 may control thecapacitive pad 118 and receive data from the capacitive pad 118 such asdata sensed by sensors 124 a-124 aj of the capacitive pad. Moreover, theprocessor 119 may execute instructions that are stored on thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium 117 to perform thefunctions described below and operate as a special purpose computingdevice. Moreover, the processor 119 may output data to an externaldevice through an Input/Output (I/O) port 121. The computing device 104may connect to external devices/peripherals via the I/O port 121. Forexample, the I/O port 121 may be a wireless connection, a Bluetoothconnection, a USB connection, etc.

Example embodiments of the computing device 104 may include a tablet, asmart phone, a personal computer, a laptop or any data processingcapable device. The computing device 104 may include a capacitive pad118, which is discussed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 4aand 4 b.

The computing device 104 may be a small form personal device that issmall enough to fit in a pants-pocket or coat pocket, e.g., an iPhone®,a Kindle® or other smart device. Alternatively, in the present exampleembodiment, the computing device 104 may be a desktop type device suchas a PC or MAC® computer. The capacitive pad 118 may be integral withthe computing device 104. For example, the capacitive pad 118 may be aninput interface that may be a part of a housing of the computing device104. In some example embodiments, the capacitive pad 118 may be externalto the computing device 104.

As shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b , the capacitive pad 118 includes aplurality of sensors 124 a-aj. Electrically conductive material createsvoltage drops at specific sensors on the capacitive pad 118. Forexample, referring to FIG. 4b , nine sensors on the capacitive pad 118,i.e., 124 a, 124 c, 124 e, 124 h, 124 o, 124 p, 124 t, 124 aa and 124ac, may be triggered simultaneously while the remaining capacitive padsremain idle. Configuration and excitation of the plurality of sensors124 a-124 aj of the capacitive pad 118 will be discussed in more detailbelow with respect to FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of the authentication server106. The authentication server 106 may include a non-transitory computerreadable medium 120. For example, the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium 120 may be an internal hard drive, an external harddrive, a cloud server, or any other data storage device. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium 120 may be configured toinclude a database 129. The authentication server 106 may also include aprocessor 122.

The processor 122 may control the functions of the authentication serversuch as communication with the computing device 104. Moreover, theprocessor 122 may execute instructions that are stored on thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium 120 to perform thefunctions described below and operate as a special purpose computingdevice. Moreover, the processor 122 may output data to an externaldevice through a wireless Input/Output (I/O) port 128 a. The computingdevice 104 may connect to external devices/peripherals via the wirelessI/O port 128 a. Alternatively, the processor may receive or output datato/from an external device through a direct physical connection 128 b.The direct physical connection 128 b may be, for example, a universalserial bus (USB) connection.

The authentication server 106 may be located at a location known to amanufacturer of the product package 102. The authentication server 106may be coupled to a plurality of computing devices (e.g., the computingdevice 104). For example, the authentication server 106 may host themanufacturer's webpage and provide access to the plurality of computingdevices through the network 112 via the connection 110 b. In thisexample embodiment, therefore, any of the plurality of computing devicesis coupled to the authentication server 106 through the network 112 viathe wireless connection port 128 a and the connection 110 a.Alternatively, a computing device may be connected locally through adirect physical connection 128 b.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example relationship between the computing device104 and the product package 102. Specifically, FIG. 6 is an examplerelationship between the capacitive pad 118 of the computing device 104and the conductive ink 116 of the product package 102. Interactionbetween the capacitive pad 118 and the computing device 104 will bediscussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 8.

The product package 102 may be any of a variety of package types. Forexample, in an example embodiment, the product package may be a packagefor an electronic vaping device. The product package 102 of the exampleembodiment may be any configuration such as a rectilinear box, aclamshell type container, a circular disk-like container and any otherconfiguration for holding electronic vaping devices (not shown).Alternatively, each electronic vaping device within the product package102 may be manufactured to include its own second code 126. The secondcode 126 may be placed anywhere on an external surface of the packaging.

In the vaping device product package example embodiment, it is notrequired that the second code 126 be placed on the external surface ofthe packaging. For example, in clamshell type boxes, the second code 126may be placed on an internal surface of the box. Therefore, it is moredifficult to obtain the second code 126 without purchasing the productpackage. It is also possible to place the second code 126 on a concealedsurface of a vaping device such as at a connector of the vaping device.

The system 100 is not limited to use in electronic vaping deviceproducts. For example, other industries may use the system 100 such asthe electronics industry in general, housing construction, foodindustry, etc. Each manufacturer may have a conductive ink configurationthat is unique to that manufacturer.

In the example embodiment, each second code 126 is randomly generated toreduce predictability of second codes that will be printed on theproduct package. For example, a manufacturer that creates ten thousandidentical product packages may attach a second code to each package. Assuch, the manufacturer may randomly create ten thousand codes, i.e., onerespective code per product package.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the conductive ink 116 is an ink thatmay include an electrically conductive material such as iron, carbon orsilver. The electrically conductive material may be in the form of metalfilings or shavings contained in the ink.

The conductive ink 116 may be placed anywhere on the product package102. For example, the conductive ink may be placed on the substrate 114,which as shown in the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, is aplanar front surface of the product package 102. In other exampleembodiments, the conductive ink 116 may be on a side region, end regionor edge region of the product package 102.

As stated above, FIG. 6 illustrates an example relationship between thecapacitive pad 118 and the conductive ink 116. For example, theconductive ink 116 may have any number of configurations. In the exampleembodiment shown in FIG. 6, the conductive ink 116 has a configurationresembling Morris Code. Alternatively, the conductive ink may beconfigured as a circuit. For example, the conductive ink 116 may have aQuick Response Code (QR Code) type design. Alternatively, the conductiveink 116 may have a bar code type design. The bars of the bar code designmay be configured in any orientation, i.e., vertically, horizontally,diagonally, skewed, etc. The conductive ink 116 may be placed on thesubstrate 114 in a plurality of ways, i.e., painted, sputter deposited,etched, laser printed, etc.

The conductive ink 116 may have a color outside of the visible range ofthe light spectrum. Having a code outside of the visible range of thelight spectrum, e.g., infrared or ultraviolet helps hindercounterfeiting efforts. Alternatively, the conductive ink 116 may have avisible color, i.e., a color inside the visible range of the lightspectrum.

Operation of the present example embodiment will now be described.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method of authenticating a productpackage. As shown in FIG. 7, at step S700 the sensors 124 a-124 aj sensethe presence of the product package 102 having the electricallyconductive ink 116. The first process 710 may occur entirely within thecomputing device 104. For example, at step S710, the computing device104 performs a first authentication process, which is discussed indetail with respect to FIG. 8. At step S720, the computing device 104and server 106 perform a second authentication process, which isdiscussed in detail with respect to FIG. 9.

FIG. 8 illustrates the first authentication process S710 of FIG. 7. Asshown, the process S710 begins when the product package 102 is sensed bythe sensors 124 a-124 aj of the capacitive pad 118. For example, thesensors 124 a-124 aj are operable in response to being in contact withor in close proximity, i.e., within two to three millimeters, withanything that can hold a charge, e.g., electrically conductive material,human skin, etc. When the electrically conductive material, e.g.,electrically conductive ink 116, comes in proximity to the sensors 124a-124 aj, a small electrical charge is transferred to the electricallyconductive ink 116 to complete a circuit. A voltage drop is therebycreated at the sensors 124 a-124 aj of the capacitive pad 118. Theprocessor 119 of the computing device 104 reads the location of thisvoltage drop and is configured to act in response to thereto.

At step S802 the processor 119 of the computing device 104 determineswhether a product having an electrically conductive ink is in closeproximity. For example, the processor 119 determines whether any of thesensors 124 a-124 aj outputs data/a signal corresponding to thecapacitive ink 116. Step S802 provides an activation step for theprocessor 119. Alternatively, step S802 may be an optional step. Theprocessor 119 may altogether bypass step S802. For example, theprocessor 119 may be configured to react only if proper sensors of theentirety of sensors 124 a-124 aj are sense the conductive ink. As such,the process can begin with step S804 below.

If step S802 is used and the processor 119 determines that the packageincludes an electrically conductive ink, the process proceeds to stepS804. However, if no ink is sensed by any of the sensors 124 a-124 aj,the processor 119 takes no action.

At step S804, the processor 119 determines whether the electricallyconductive ink 116 is in a shape that is configured to triggerappropriate sensors, for example, 124 a, 124 c, 124 e, 124 h, 124 o, 124p, 124 t, 124 aa and 124 ac as shown in FIG. 4b may be the appropriatesensors. The electrically conductive ink 116 as shown in FIG. 2 may beconfigured to correspond only to sensors 124 a, 124 c, 124 e, 124 h, 124o, 124 p, 124 t, 124 aa and 124 ac. If any other sensor, in addition tothe nine sensors shown in FIG. 4b (124 a, 124 c, 124 e, 124 h, 124 o,124 p, 124 t, 124 aa and 124 ac) is triggered, the processor 119 may beconfigured to take no action.

If, at step S804, the processor 119 determines that the electricallyconductive ink is configured to trigger the nine sensors shown in FIG.4b , the appropriate sensors, the process proceeds to step S806. At stepS806, the processor 119 opens an internet browsing on the computingdevice 104.

At step S808, after opening the internet browsing, the processor 119opens a webpage. The webpage may be a proprietary webpage that belongsto the manufacturer of the product package 102. Alternatively, thewebpage may be any other webpage that the manufacturer of the productpackage 102 may want to present to the holder of the product package102.

The webpage may be an exclusive webpage in which the only way to accessthe webpage, other than being the webpage administrator, is via aninternet browsing application activated by the electrically conductiveink 116 exciting the appropriate sensors.

As stated above, the first authentication process 710 may occur entirelywithin the computing device 104 and ends after the computing deviceopens the manufacturer's webpage. The computing device 104 gainingaccess to the manufacturer's webpage may be a confirmation that thefirst authentication process 710 was completed successfully. Forexample, if the webpage fails to open after performing all of the stepsrecited in the first authentication process 710, it may be because atleast one of the steps of the first authentication process 710 wasperformed incorrectly. Failure of the webpage to open may have nothingto do with whether the first authentication process 710 was performedproperly. For example, failure of the webpage to open couldalternatively be because the computing device 104 was defective in someway.

After the webpage is opened in step S808, the process proceeds to thesecond authentication process S720. FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart ofthe second authentication process S720 in FIG. 7 according to an exampleembodiment. As shown in step S902, the authentication server 106receives confirmation from the computing device 104 that the firstauthentication process S710 is valid. For example, in the event that themanufacturer's webpage can only be opened when an electricallyconductive ink properly triggers correct sensors on a capacitive pad,the authentication server 106 may interpret the step of connecting thecomputing device 104 to the product package manufacturer's webpage asconfirmation that the first authentication process S710 was completedsuccessfully. The authentication server 106 providing the computingdevice 104 with access to the manufacturer's webpage that is hosted bythe authentication server 106 thus serves as confirmation from thecomputing device 104 that the first authentication process 710 has beencompleted successfully.

At step S904, the authentication server 106 receives the second code 126from the computing device 104. For example, after the internet browseron the computing device 104 is opened, the computing device 104 requestsentry of the second code 126, i.e., the code printed on the substrate114 as shown in FIG. 2.

At step S906, the authentication server 106 determines whether the codeis valid. For example, the authentication server 106 refers to adatabase 129 that may be stored on the internal non-transitory computerreadable medium 120, i.e., a hard drive, to determine whether the secondcode 126 is stored therein.

If the second code is not found, the process proceeds to step S906 a andsends a message to the computing device 104 indicating that the productpackage 102 may be counterfeit. The process then optionally proceeds tostep S906 b and receives and then stores a location of the computingdevice 104. The authentication server 106 may store computing devicelocations to establish possible counterfeiting geographic trends. Iflocation information for the computing device 104 is not available oraccessible by the authentication server 106, the process may proceeddirectly to step S906 c in which the authentication server 106discontinues computing device access to the webpage.

Returning to step S906, if the second code 126 is successfully found onthe database 129, the process proceeds to step S908 to determine whetherthe second code 126 is unused. For example, the authentication server106 refers to the second code database 129 to determine whether thesecond code 126 has been used before the present attempt at entering thesecond code 126. Each code may have an associated timestamp, which mayalso be maintained in the database 129 stored in the non-transitorycomputer readable medium 120. Each code may have an associatedtimestamp, which may be also be maintained in the non-transitorycomputer readable medium 120. In the present example embodiment, thesecond code 126 may be used only once.

If the second code 126 has been used, the process proceeds to step S908a and sends a message to the computing device 104 indicating that thesecond code 126 has already been used. The process then optionallyproceeds to step S908 b and receives and then stores a location of thecomputing device 104. As it is possible that the code may be valid, thecode may have been recovered by a counterfeiter and printed on acounterfeit product package. The authentication server 106 may storecomputing device locations to establish possible counterfeitinggeographic trends. If location information for the computing device 104is not available or accessible by the authentication server, the processmay proceed directly to step S908 c in which the authentication server106 discontinues computing device access to the webpage.

If the second code 126 is determined to be valid (at step S906) andunused (at step S908), the process optionally proceeds to step S910. Atstep S910, the authentication server 106 sends product history to thecomputing device 104. For example, the authentication server 106 mayprovide a manufacture date, product pricing confirmation, serialnumbers, etc.

At step S912, the authentication server 106 authorizes access to productmanufacturer information. For example, a manufacturer may desire toprovide coupons or incentives to the product package holder as anexchange for undergoing the authentication process. These coupons andincentives may be exclusively found on the manufacturer's webpage.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or featuresof a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particularembodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be usedin a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A product authentication method comprising:triggering a first authentication process in response to sensing anelectrically conductive ink in proximity to a computing device, thecomputing device including a capacitive pad having a one or moresensors, the conductive ink being printed on a surface of a product;sensing a desired pattern of the electrically conductive ink using theone or more sensors of the capacitive pad; initiating an internetbrowsing application on the computing device in response to triggeringappropriate sensors of the one or more sensors of the capacitive pad;and performing a second authentication process via the initiatedapplication, the second authentication process including, sending apackage code to a remote server, the package code being printed on thesurface of the product, and receiving a product authenticationdetermination from the remote server, the product authenticationdetermination is valid when (i) the package code is in a database at theremote server and (ii) the package code has not been used before apresent attempt, and in response to the product authenticationdetermination indicating the package code is excluded from the databaseor the package code has been used before the present attempt,determining a location of the computing device, and sending the locationof the computing device to the remote server for storage.
 2. The productauthentication method as recited in claim 1, wherein the firstauthentication process includes determining whether the electricallyconductive ink corresponds to an orientation of the one or more sensors.3. The product authentication method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: ending the application if the package code is not found inthe database.
 4. The product authentication method as recited in claim1, further comprising: ending the application if the remote server hasdetermined the package code has been used before the present attempt. 5.The product authentication method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving from the remote server, based on the productauthentication determination, (A) a product package history information,(B) access to product package vendor information, or both (A) and (B).6. The product authentication method as recited in claim 1, wherein thefirst authentication process is based on a shape of the conductive ink.7. The product authentication method as recited in claim 1, wherein thefirst authentication process is based on a configuration of theconductive ink.
 8. The product authentication method as recited in claim1, further comprising: receiving from the remote server, based on theproduct authentication determination, a coupon for the product.
 9. Acomputing device comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory computerreadable medium storing instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to, trigger a first authenticationprocess in response to sensing a conductive ink in proximity to thecomputing device, the conductive ink being printed on a surface of aproduct, the computing device including a capacitive pad having one ormore sensors, sense a desired pattern of the conductive ink using theone or more sensors of the capacitive pad, initiate an internet browsingapplication on the computing device in response to triggeringappropriate sensors of the one or more sensors of the capacitive pad,initiate a second authentication process, the second authenticationprocess including, sending a code to a remote server, the code beingprinted on the surface of the product, receiving a productauthentication determination from the remote server, the productauthentication determination is valid when (i) the code is in a databaseat the remote server and (ii) the code has not been used before apresent attempt, and in response to the product authenticationdetermination indicating the code is excluded from the database or thecode has been used before the present attempt, determining a location ofthe computing device, and sending the location of the computing deviceto the remote server for storage.
 10. The computing device of claim 9,wherein the processor is configured to: determine whether the conductiveink corresponds to an orientation of the one or more sensors.
 11. Thecomputing device of claim 9, wherein the code includes a package code.12. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configuredto: end the application if the code is not found in the database. 13.The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to:end the application if the remote server has determined the code hasbeen used before the present attempt.
 14. The computing device of claim9, wherein the processor is configured to: receive from the remoteserver, based on the product authentication determination, (A) a productpackage history information, (B) access to product package vendorinformation, or both (A) and (B).
 15. The computing device of claim 9,wherein the first authentication process is based on a shape of theconductive ink.
 16. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the firstauthentication process is based on a configuration of the conductiveink.
 17. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: receive from the remote server, based on theproduct authentication determination, a coupon for the product.